PERFORMERS: LES DAWSON

For a quarter of a century he was one of Britain’s most cherished comedians, a man who not only said funny things and said things “funny” but, on occasion, looked funny while he was saying them. Les Dawson was perhaps the last bastion of the British music hall, relying on clever wordplays, facial expressions and outlandish appearance in pursuit of a solid belly laugh.

Starting out as a singer, Manchester-born Les soon realized his short chubby looks were more suited to making people laugh than swoon, but by his mid-thirties (with success eluding him and a family to support) he was on the brink of admitting defeat and getting a day job.

But national exposure on Opportunity Knocks in 1967 proved the catalyst and by decade’s end Dawson had his own series Sez Les on Yorkshire Television and was a regular participant in the company’s new Jokers Wild gagfest. The following year he began a long association with BBC radio and was heard in such shows as Our Les and Listen to Les.

Les wasn’t just a run-of-the-mill joke teller … he was a talented musician who knew how to play the piano excruciatingly badly, he had a lugubrious expression oft-times resembling “a sack of spanners” (to use his own words) and was more than adept at appearing gormless in a variety of guises.

His shows were also enlivened by a gallery of regular Dawson characters: most notable being dumpy housewife Ada (inspired by, and a tribute to, the revered Northern comic Norman Evans). With Roy Barraclough as gossipy neighbour Cissie, the Dawson talent for facial distortion and vocal meandering came into full play. John Cleese was also a regular participant in the early years, being an unashamed fan of the newcomer.

After ten years as Yorkshire’s chief funnyman, Les was lured to BBC Television in 1978 (at a time when Morecambe and Wise had deserted them for ITV company Thames). But unlike the legendary double act, his popularity wasn’t affected by the switch.

The 1980s was a turbulent time for British comedians of the old school … their schoolyard was rapidly being taken over by crowds of “alternative” playmates who decreed that mothers-in-law and busty blondes were no longer to be included in the syllabus and the most popular new subject was to be political correctness.

Les knew what he was good at and, thanks to the BBC, he was allowed to keep doing it. Each year saw new seasons of his BBC1 and Radio 2 offerings, but by the middle of the decade the latter stages of his wife’s terminal illness forced him to lessen his workload.

In late 1984 he took over from Terry Wogan as host of the game show Blankety Blank, and would make it his personal plaything for six years, relegating the panel of celebrities to a glittering gaggle of straightmen (sorry, “straightpersons”). And his love of the English language continued to find expression in an array of humorous novels and (eventually) two volumes of autobiography.

In 1990, Dawson fronted a revived version of Opportunity Knocks and the following year a frustratingly mediocre game show called Fast Friends. Les could also be seen in the lead role of the bizarre play Nona on BBC2 and was the standout performer at that year’s Royal Variety Show. But now his own health was becoming a problem and he had to contend himself with being guest on other people’s chat shows and a recurring character part in the Griff Rhys Jones/Martin Clunes drama series, Demob. His final TV appearance was on Cilla Black’s Surprise Surprise.

Les Dawson was felled by a fatal heart attack in June 1993 (ironically whilst visiting hospital for a checkup). Twenty years later he is still fondly remembered as a very funny man, and sadly missed.

LISTEN TO LESSeries 1: R2 Sundays 2-00pm July 7 to August 25 1974episode 6 is in BBC Archives
Series 2: R2 Sundays 2-00pm June 8 to July 27 1975episode 3 is in BBC Archives
*** MIKE YARWOOD IN THE LES DAWSON SHOW
R2 Monday 1-00pm August 25 1975 (50 min)held in BBC Archives
Series 3: R2 Sunday 2-00pm October 17 to December 5 1976episode 1 is in BBC Archives
Series 4: R2 Sunday 2-00pm August 7 to September 25 1977episode 3 is in BBC Archives
Series 5: R2 Sunday 10-30pm October 1 to November 19 1978episode 1 is in BBC Archives
Series 6: R2 Sunday 1-30pm November 18 1979 to January 6 1980episode 1 is in BBC Archives
Series 7: R2 Sunday 1-30pm December 7 1980 to January 25 1981all episodes are in BBC Archives
Series 8: R2 Sunday 1-30pm January 10 to March 28 1982all episodes (except show 3) are in BBC Archives
Series 9: R2 Sunday 1-30pm July 10 to September 25 1983episodes 1 to 3 and 10 to 12 are in BBC Archives
Series 10: R2 Sunday 4-00pm January 20 to March 24 1985all episodes are in BBC Archiveswith Les Dawson, Colin Edwynn, Daphne Oxenford, Roy Barraclough (series 9)

Television

COMEDY PLAYHOUSE: State of the Union (BBC1 April 26 1968)

JOKERS WILD(Les Dawson is featured in most editions)series 1: ITV/Yorkshire July 9 to November 12 1969
series 2: ITV/Yorkshire July 4 to September 26 1970
series 3: ITV/Yorkshire December 12 1970 to January 23 1971
series 4: ITV/Yorkshire July 24 to September 4 1972
series 5: ITV/Yorkshire October 19 1972 to March 22 1973
series 6: ITV/Yorkshire May 17 to September 13 1973
series 7: ITV/Yorkshire November 19 1973 to June 24 1975
series 8: ITV/Yorkshire September 25 to November 20 1975

SEZ LESseries 1: Yorkshire April 30 to June 18 1969series 2: Yorkshire September 10 to November 19 1969series 3: Yorkshire August 16 to September 6 1971series 4: Yorkshire January 13 to February 17 1972series 5: Yorkshire July 29 to September 9 1972 (45 min)series 6 (titled LES SEZ): Yorkshire October 40 to December 4 1972series 7: Yorkshire July 28 to September 8 1973 (45 min)and Christmas special December 26 1973 (60 min)series 8: Yorkshire January 25 to March 8 1974series 9: Yorkshire June 28 to August 9 1974special: Yorkshire January 2 1976 (60 min)series 10: Yorkshire February 25 to March 10 1976 (60 min)series 11: Yorkshire October 19 to December 6 1976
(short segments were also featured in the Christmas Day All-Star Comedy Carnival programmes of 1971, 1972 and 1973

DAWSON’S WEEKLY: Yorkshire June 12 to July 29 1975Les Miserables
Where There’s a Will
Stage-Struck
Accident Prone
All Pools Day
The Clerical Error

THE LES DAWSON SHOW: Yorkshire September 10 1975 (60 min)

DAWSON AND FRIENDS: Yorkshire (60 min)
special 1: April 20 1977
special 2: May 25 1977
special 3: June 15 1977
special 4: June 29 1977

THE LES DAWSON SHOW
series 1: BBC1 January 21 to April 1 1978

THE DAWSON WATCH
series 1: BBC1 February 23 to April 6 1979
series 2: BBC1 November 22 to December 27 1979
series 3: BBC1 October 17 to November 28 1980
special: BBC1 December 23 1980

THE LES DAWSON SHOWspecial: BBC1 May 25 1981 (45 min)
series 2: BBC1 January 30 to March 5 1982
series 3: BBC1 January 15 to February 19 1983
series 4: BBC1 January 21 to February 25 1984
special: BBC1 December 28 1987 (50 min)
series 5: BBC1 October 19 to November 23 1989

MUSSOLINI WITH KNICKERS: BBC1 October 18 1981

BLANKETY BLANK
Les took over the game show (previously hosted by Terry Wogan) and compered nearly a hundred editions between September 7 1984 and March 12 1990.

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